I leave for the World Race in 100 days…WHAT?!?!
I can’t believe how fast the time is going! I feel like it was just days ago when I was checking my e-mail every 5 seconds to see if AIM had contacted me about my application to tell me if I had been accepted or not! Now I’m only 100 days from Launch weekend and I have gone through so many emotions and had so many thought, it’s been crazy. In honor of 100 days until Launch, I will be writing 100 things I’ve thought about since starting this journey. Shout out to two of my squadmates, Morgan Pratt and Bailey Pittman, who had the idea to do a post like this. I am totally stealing their idea (but it’s okay, cause I checked with them first)!
These are real, raw questions and thoughts that my teammates and I have all had. I pray that you see my heart in these and know that I’m only human and I struggle with being worried about big and little things alike, so some of these are funny and some of them are really vulnerable. If you see someone’s name in parentheses after a question, it’s one of my squadmates and they came up with that question/thought, but I’ve only used ones that I’ve thought about too! So, without further ado, here are 100 thoughts that I’ve had since starting my World Race journey:
- Am I actually going on the World Race?!?!/ Am I actually going on the World Race?…….
- What am I going to eat?…I’m like the pickiest person in the world…
- What clothes am I supposed to bring?
- I can’t wait to be somewhere where it’s normal not to wear any make-up (shout out to Aubrey Motard who always does my make-up if I actually have to look presentable somewhere…you can check out her business at either of the following links: http://www.marykay.com/amotard or https://www.facebook.com/MKAubrey/)
- How am I going to say goodbye to all of the people here that I love?
- Should I pack jeans a size up so they’ll fit throughout the race? I gotta feeling all those rice and beans won’t be so forgiving on the waist… (Teagan Bencsics)
- Are all of the kids I love going to remember me?
- What kind of camera should I bring?
- How many pairs of sunglasses am I going to break in the next 11 months?
- Am I going to want to use my phone when I get back home?
- How many times am I going to crave Kristin Sheffield’s delicious cheesy bacon fries with ranch?
- How am I going to survive for 11 months without ranch?…
- Will I have any alone time?
- How many stupid/crazy things can I do throughout the race before my parents threaten to come get me (probably like 2)? (Melissa Vereen)
- How can I ever raise $16,961?
- Will there still be a place for me when I come home?
- How many people will be at my church when I come back?!
- How many more of my friends will get pregnant while I’m gone?!
- Will my friends and I still be able to connect like we did before I left?…I mean they’ve had an entire year of life without me, so how will that change things and how will it be the same as when I left?
- How many of my friends will get engaged/married while I’m gone?
- What food item am I going to miss the most?
- In what areas of my life is God going to grow me the most?
- Will God reveal to me what he wants me to do as a career? (I appreciate ALL of the prayers you can give me on this one…I desperately hope that the answer is yes!)
- Am I going to have to force myself to like coffee while I’m gone?
- What’s the toilet paper situation like in other countries? (Bailey Pittman)
- If I get lice (all prayers against that are appreciated as well) will I just give up and shave my head?
- How often will I get to shower on the race?
- I can’t imagine how my parents are feeling about this, are they going to be okay while I’m gone?
- How in the world am I supposed to fit everything I need for 11 months into two bags?!
- Are these shots really necessary like what even is Japanese Encephalitis? (Amy Wagner)
- How many months of Malaria medication do I actually need?
- Am I going to shave at all for 11 months?…
- How many times am I going to get sick?
- I’m going to be sleeping on the floor, so do they have cockroaches in other countries, cause if they do…I’m out!
- Will people back home have time to think about what I’m doing and pray for me during their busy days?
- I pray that God would break me and build me up to be better and more like Him. When is that going to happen?
- OMG, how am I supposed to decide on all of this gear?!
- How gross are my clothes going to smell?
- On a scale of one to caveman, how intense will my hair get in Africa? (Melissa Vereen)
- Will I get a tattoo on the race (my mom says I better not, but we’ll see lol)
- How many pictures am I going to take in 11 months?
- How many clothing items will I come home with that I started the race with?
- When will I learn guitar (because it’e happening, I just don’t know which month it will happen)?
- Why does everyone keep telling me I’m going to meet my husband while I’m on the race, and are they right or wrong?
- Instead of getting all of these shots, I’m just gonna pray that I have someone with the gift of healing on my team. (Jarren Templeton)
- Will I be able to learn all of my squadmates names?…I’m terrible with names!
- Will I be able to watch The Voice while I’m gone?
- I can’t believe I’m Launching the day that the Summer Olympics starts…can we stop over in Rio for the first week of the Race and watch them live? (Daniel Sprando)
- How many pairs of jeans should I pack?
- How much deodorant does one pack for 11 months?
- Will I eat a snake in Cambodia?
- How are Chacos so awesome?!
- How serious is this “50 lbs” rule they’re talkin about? (Morgan Pratt)
- How many times am I going to go to REI before I leave?
- Is there wifi everywhere in the world, because I had never even heard of Lesotho before I signed up for this, and it just sounds like a country that doesn’t have wifi…
- Will I like sleeping in my tent or my hammock better?
- Is there a limit to how much people can take of me?…Guess we’ll find out. (Jarren Templeton)
- I’m going to try to vlog while I’m gone…will I be any good at it and will I ever be as awesome as Julia Robertson? (Subscribe to her channel, I love it!…but subscribe to mine too when I make one!)
- How many times will I cry throughout this process?
- How real is this going to get?…I mean, this is a LOT of women together in one place!
- Will there be any guys on my team and do I want any?
- How will God shape my strengths? (Melissa Vereen)
- How many of the kids that I work with am I going to want to adopt?
- I pray that God uses my blog/vlog/facebook posts/experience to change the hearts of people I know and bring them closer to Him. Will my journey help anyone take a step closer to giving their life to Christ?
- Will there be AC anywhere?…
- How many cards will my friends send me off with? (You all know how much I LOVE cards!)
- How many new worship songs will I learn while I’m away?
- How awesome would it be if I was in some foreign country speaking in tongues and some foreigner came up and started interpreting what was coming out of my mouth!? (Emily Knox)
- Am I going to be able to sleep in a room full of people?…I am a light sleeper now…not good for the race!
- How many times will I be offended by a teammate or squadmate, cause we all know it’s gonna happen…we’re all human after all, plus it’s mostly girls!
- How awesome will it be when my parents come visit during at PVT, and how am I going to handle saying goodbye to them again?
- How many of my friends/family members don’t support this and think it’s a bad idea but won’t tell me?
- Am I still needed where I am right now?
- Will people accept who I have become when I return? (Melissa Vereen)
- So many of my squadmates parents are unsupportive of them going on the World Race. I am so heartbroken for them, but I am so thankful to have parents who, while they might not be ecstatic about me being gone for a year, they are certainly supportive of my decision.
- How many times am I going to have to force myself to eat things that look/smell/are disgusting because it’s not polite to not eat food you’re served?
- Will I get to see a lion on an African safari, and will I get to play with/ride an elephant in Thailand?
- If I meet somebody who needs a bible, will I be able to give them mine? How many extra bibles should I bring, cause I really like mine… (Emily Knox)
- I am so thankful for the church I am a part of. So many of my squadmates churches aren’t supporting them, and my church and all of the people in it have been amazing. I could not do this without them!
- How many items will I get to cross off of my Bucket List?
- What will be the most delicious thing I eat and the most disgusting?
- Who will turn out to be some of my best friends?
- How many World Race weddings will I get to go to because my squadmates found their spouses on the Race?
- Will people actually miss me while I’m gone?
- I really hope _______ is on my team!
- How will God use me through my weaknesses? (Melissa Vereen)
- Which of my weaknesses will God grow into strengths?
- How many miracles will I see while I’m gone?
- What will be the most important thing that I’ll learn from these 11 months?
- I hope that I don’t come back to America the same person I was when I left.
- I can’t wait to get all of these passport stamps!!!!! How many will I have total when I get home?!
- How many hours will I spend on planes and how many plane rides will I go on total?
- What is this whole team changes thing?…
- What will be the one thing that breaks my heart the most while I’m gone?
- Should I mark my underwear by day so I can have one pair of underwear for each day of the week?… (Dylan Weaver)
- How greasy is my hair actually going to get and how many days in a row can one use dry shampoo?
- Will my sleeping pad pop, and if it does, what do I do?!
- Will my friends care about what I’m doing and will they know how to talk to me when I’m going through things on the Race?
- Which country will be my favorite one and why?
- God, I don’t know why you’ve chosen me, of all people, to send on this crazy adventure, but I want whatever you have for me, so please shape me into the woman you are calling me to be and lead me every step of the way.
There it is! These are all real things that my squadmates and I have been thinking about since we’ve started our World Race journeys. I am so excited for this amazing adventure that God has called me to, but it can be scary as well. I am leaving behind everything I know for 11 months, and that’s a big deal! But I also know that God is leading my path and He is going before me on this adventure, so I’m going to be just fine! Please remember to keep my squadmates and I in your prayers now and throughout our journey. I appreciate your support, encouragement, prayers, and love so much!
Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog if you haven’t yet so you can follow my entire World Race journey! Love you guys! <3
